A tale of progress or even lack of it ...

In the Indoor Growing Light Garden things are progressing well. The decision has been made to leave well alone as far as the lettuce leaves are concerned and take a 'see what happens and deal with it' approach. The hood has been slid down so that the light is closer to the seedlings which will hopefully be of even more benefit. This can be slid up as the seeds grow. It’s a case of so far so good as all the seeds that have been sown, lettuce, basil, coriander and spring cabbage have germinated well and are growing well. The seedlings are very green and haven’t yet become leggy.

The cobnut, kiwi and Japanese wineberry that we bought from Victoriana Nursery Gardens are now budding. As the ground is still very muddy they will stay in the garden greenhouse for a while longer. The cobnut is fine as we had already planted it in a large pot but the wineberry and kiwi were still in the small pots that they arrived in and so we have potted them on. (By the way Victoriana Nursery Gardens are offering 10% discount to anyone ordering using a link from any of our websites or blogs).

The perennials from Beth Chatto Nursery Gardens are also growing really well so well that I succumbed and ordered another couple of plants to make up for the ones that were unavailable. (Promise I don't get any commission for singing their praises)! My two new acquisitions are Brunnera – Jack Frost and Omphalodes cappadocica - 'Cherry Ingram' (goodness knows how you pronounce that!). Usually the nursery don't accept orders for less than £20 but as I pleaded that I was an idiot who hadn't noticed the bit about accepting substitutes they let me have just a couple of plants - it always pays to ask! These are to add to the area under the crab apple tree.

Also in the garden greenhouse the garlic is growing well. We have also potted up some elephant garlic cloves and some shallot and onion sets. The shallots are already starting to shoot.

In the garden the bulbs have really gathered speed although to get the full benefit of the snowdrops and crocuses we need a bit more sunshine as at the moment the buds are determined to stay tightly closed. The hellebores too that I planted last year are producing buds and would also welcome more sunshine to coax them on. 

Elsewhere in the garden the troughs of pansies are picking up after their battering – tough little things aren’t they? They would also love a little sun though to dry out their petals and make them lift their smiley faces. A daphne that arrived from out of the blue – literally, I think a seed must have dropped from the sky courtesy of a low flying bird - is full of flower. Just goes to show that sometimes it pays not to be too eager to whip out something that looks as though it may be some sort of weed! Pity the bird didn’t drop it somewhere where it would have space to develop but I daren’t move it in case it dies.

Not everything has come through the winter unscathed as it looks as though our gunnera and phormium have had it. Looks like another area of the garden will need some replanting!

 

And on top of all that love is in the air! Folklore has it that the birds choose their mates on Valentines day. Well our birds are a bit forward and have been seen around in pairs for a while now. Blue tits and great tits are already exploring the bird boxes so it was time to make sure nest cam was in position. (See Martyn’s blog for a photo). Nest cam is another new toy but chances are that being new nothing will take up residence this year especially as our contrary blue and great tits seem to prefer the sparrow terrace!!!

As for any progress getting things done outside well ... that's the lack of it bit!